Ministers from nearly 60 countries are gathering this week in the Colombian city of Santa Marta for what is being called the first global conference on phasing out fossil fuels.
The United States was not invited.
The summit is taking place against the backdrop of the United States and Israel’s war with Iran, which has set off a global energy crisis. Shortages and price spikes have led governments to ration fuel, shorten workweeks and limit travel.
For some countries, the volatility of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is transported, has prompted a reconsideration of their reliance on imported fossil fuels. But while for some that could mean more investment in renewable energy, for others it could result in a rush for more domestic energy reserves, like coal.
“The convergence obviously comes at a complicated time because the world is the in middle of the biggest energy crisis in history,” said Carlos Pascual, senior vice president and head of international affairs at S&P Global, a research firm.
One of the biggest recent struggles in global climate negotiations has been over phasing out of coal, oil and gas, the burning of which is the primary driver of climate change. In 2023, countries including the United States agreed to move away from fossil fuels and significantly ramp up renewable energy initiatives like wind, solar and electric vehicles.
The following November, the United States returned Donald Trump to the White House, and reversed course. Mr. Trump, who dismisses climate change, withdrew the United States from the Paris agreement to fight global warming and has pressured nations to buy more American oil and gas. When nearly 200 nations convened for the annual United Nations climate talks last year in Brazil, the Trump administration was absent. And while 80 other countries there agreed to create a road map away from fossil fuels, the idea was blocked by Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing nations.
This week’s summit, led by Colombia and the Netherlands, is an effort to work around those obstacles and figure out how to grow momentum for a transition to clean energy, said Stientje van Veldhoven-van der Meer, the Dutch minister of climate and green growth.
“I hope that we can really establish this coalition of the willing,” she said, adding, “This brings together those who, whether they want to move fast or slow, do feel the need to get started on this really transitioning away from the fossils.”
Those expected to participate include Turkey and Australia, which are co-hosting the next United Nations climate summit in November, as well as the European Union, several Latin American countries and many Pacific island nations. A number of major fossil fuel producers also plan to attend, including Canada, Nigeria, Norway and Brazil.
But China, India and Russia are not attending. Nor are Saudi Arabia or other Gulf nations whose economies depend on oil and gas. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat and a possible 2028 presidential candidate, has been invited to speak.
“The reality is that moving away from reliable, affordable and secure energy to rely on intermittent and costly energy sources is destructive, and the president has been clear that the United States will not participate in the bogus climate agenda,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement.
Mr. Trump and his cabinet officials have criticized the European Union’s embrace of clean energy, saying it has hurt the bloc’s economy. E.U. leaders have pushed back and argued that the Iran war has underlined the need to develop wind, solar and other clean energy sources.
“The sooner we can rely on homegrown energy and lower dependencies, the better for everybody, and of course, for us Europeans,” Teresa Ribera, the E.U.’s commissioner for economic competition, said while in Washington recently.
Tzeporah Berman, who leads the Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty Initiative, a group that wants countries to move rapidly away from coal, oil and gas, said the Iran war had made the Santa Marta summit “an emergency meeting.”
The clean energy transition was “already an urgent climate priority,” Ms. Berman said. Now, it’s an “urgent economic necessity,” she said.
Yet energy experts said the Iran war had created major new challenges for climate change. While homegrown energy may be a solution to global volatility, it isn’t always clean. In India, Indonesia and elsewhere, expanding domestic sources may mean more reliance on coal.
“That is going to be an appealing choice from an energy security perspective in many parts of the world, and it’s a part of the conversation that the climate community needs to directly address and engage with,” said Jason Bordoff, he founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
High-level discussions begin on Tuesday and will last through Wednesday. Organizers said they were hoping the plans developed this week would be brought into the U.N. climate summit in November in Antalya, Turkey.
Source:
www.nytimes.com
